END-TO-END ATTACHMENT OF HAPLOID CHROMOSOMES OF ORNITHOGALUM VIRENS

Abstract

The three prophase chromosomes in the haploid nucleus of Ornithogalum virens pollen are attached end-to-end in an open chain. This lends support to the suggestion that the ring configuration, in which homologous chromosomes lie opposite one another in somatic cells, is involved in recognition and pairing of homologues during meiotic prophase. It is also suggested that affinity of ends may be a general property of plant chromosomes.